Public meeting: Adaptation to climate change

The Environmental Change Institute of Oxford University in cooperation with Oxfordshire Green Party and the Low Carbon Hub, has organised a public meeting on adaptation to climate change.

Currently, policies run by the State, local government and commercial bodies are generally based on reducing greenhouse gas emissions which will, it is hoped, counter the effects of climate change and ultimately reduce human-generated emissions. However, given the limitations of the Paris Climate talks last year, it is now highly likely that human societies will have to adapt to climate change because efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have been too slow.

A public meeting on Adaptation to Climate Change will be held at the School of Geography, Hinshelwood Road, Oxford on Friday 30th September from 7-9pm. Speakers will include: Barbara Hammond (Low Carbon Hub), and Julian Cottee and Mike Simpson (both at Environmental Change Institute). Chair: Hazel Dawe.

Our County may well face greater extremes of climate in future years as a result of continuing climate change which human societies have failed to stop. Drought can have serious impacts on agriculture and food prices. Prolonged high temperatures present serious challenges for the elderly and vulnerable. The security of homes, businesses and public facilities in flood prone areas raises issues such as just how much we are prepared to spend on flood protection and the currently very much neglected sustainable urban and rural drainage systems Adaptation to climate change may prove far more arduous and expensive than reducing greenhouse gas emissions.